Cate & Ramona

Cate this morning with her beautiful bedhead.

The first chapter books that Cate and I read together were the Ramona Quimby books. I remember loving those books as a child and can even remember specific scenes from them to this day. Since Cate is pretty much my clone, I figured she would enjoy the books as well.

We read all eight books and we both loved them. There is just something so sweet and innocent about the books and also very relatable and timeless. Although, Cate is not really anything like Ramona...they both have big imaginations, but that's where the similarities stop. Cate would never squeeze an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink, not even if you offered her dessert for dinner, which is saying something. And when we read that scene, Cate was physically squirming and saying, "no! no!" because she just knew it was naughty, even though Ramona wasn't doing it for necessarily naughty reasons. It was adorable. While Cate probably relates to older sister Beezus more than Ramona the Pest, she loved all the characters and all the stories. It was a pure delight to share the books with her, snuggled on the couch or in my bed.

Since we finished all of the books, Cate was allowed to watch the movie "Beezus and Ramona" with me. We arranged to have Anna go to a friend's house to play (Thanks, Wendy!) since Anna has to read the books herself one day before seeing the movie (I have a feeling Anna may relate to Ramona's character traits on a deeper level than Cate...heaven help us!). Today was the big day, we finally got to watch the movie!

Watching the movie with Cate was almost as sweet as reading the books. First off, the movie is adorable...they combined stories from all 8 books into one movie, so you're not constantly comparing the movie to the book, which was nice. And I felt like they stayed very true to the feeling of the books. Anyway, back to Cate. She actually got scared at some parts (like when she knew Ramona was going to crack a raw egg on her head...she wouldn't even watch the screen!). And she cried FOUR times during the movie...when the cat died, when Uncle Hobart declared his love for Aunt Bea, when Ramona ran away from home, and during Hobart and Bea's wedding. Oh my goodness how my heart melted watching tears roll down Cate's cheeks. She just has such a tender heart, I love that about her more than anything.

As the final credits started to roll, I couldn't help but cry myself. I did a good job hiding it, Cate had no clue (ironic since I kept telling her it's okay to cry in books and movies, that I do it all the time). But...I don't know...we're done with Ramona. She'll maybe read the books herself again one day, but our journey with Ramona together is over. And, like Ramona, Cate is growing up. I'm so happy I get to witness it and watch her personality blossom and grow...but I can't help but tear up knowing she won't be my little girl forever, that she won't always be discovering books (and the world) with me. I know, it's the way it's supposed to be...but a mom can cry, can't she?

I love you, Cate. I love the time we've spent together with Ramona and I love your sweet, innocent heart.